SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) Sioux Falls Police Chief Matt Burns is defending the way his department handled the case of Ehab Jaber, whose angry guns rant on Facebook gained national attention.
"The point is it is a big deal. It is a high profile matter, and it's much better to get it right than get it fast, and so you consult with the attorneys because they're the ones that have to present the case," Chief Burns explains on KELO Radio's Greg Belfrage Show.
The police have been criticized for not moving more quickly against Jaber. Burns says it was determined that Jaber was not an imminent threat to the conference he was asked to leave at the Hilton Garden Inn South.
Jaber made his infamous Facebook video afterwards in his car in the parking lot of the hotel. He was eventually charged with making a terroristic threat.
"That video has connotations, and can play on the perceptions of a wide range of people. That's real life. But the point is we were engaged on this from the beginning. We had our partners working on this, had a strong look and the result is where we are at today," says Burns.
The April 9th conference titled 'Sabotaging America: Islam's March Toward Supremacy', featured speakers warning about the dangers of the Muslim religion.